Brooks Koepka vs Bryson DeChambeau was once the hottest rivalry in golf, but Brandel Chamblee seems intent on keeping his name in the ring.
After winning the PGA Championship and finishing tied for second at the Masters in April, Koepka would appear destined to join the U.S. Ryder Cup team in Rome next month. Because of Koepka’s ties to LIV Golf, however, U.S Ryder Cup team captain Zach Johnson has a difficult decision to make. Or an easy decision, according to Chamblee. Thursday afternoon, the outspoken Golf Channel analyst was on their Golf Central pregame show and claimed Koepka doesn’t belong on the U.S. Ryder Cup team.
“Koepka being at the Ryder Cup, regardless of what he does, will not be about whether it will be great for the United States or the Ryder Cup,” Chamblee said. “In making this team more cohesive, being all on point, and pointing in the right direction, Brooks Koepka missing this team would be good for this team.”
Chamblee has been one of LIV Golf’s biggest detractors since its inception last year, blasting the league for using Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund as its financial backer. On several occasions, Chamblee has accused LIV golfers of helping the Saudi regime sportswash its human rights abuses. The PGA Tour has since merged with the Saudi Public Investment Fund, but that hasn’t tempered Chamblee’s opinions on the golfers who chose to join LIV.
“Koepka being on the Ryder Cup is a referendum on LIV,” Chamblee continued. “It will be nothing else. It will be non-stop tweets from bots and everyone that supports LIV about how great this is for LIV, more than about being about the Ryder Cup, more than the philanthropic aspect of the PGA Tour or the PGA of America.”
Chamblee’s feud with Koepka, however, began years before the five-time major champion decided to join LIV. In 2019, Chamblee accused Koepka of losing weight for “vanity reasons.” Koepka responded by retweeting a photoshopped image of Chamblee with a clown nose and the feud has been ongoing ever since.
Koepka currently ranks fifth in the U.S. Team standings, typically the top six automatically qualify for the Ryder Cup. Johnson, however, has been coy on whether he wants Koepka or any LIV golfers on the team. Koepla is the only LIV golfer in the top 35 of the American Ryder Cup standings, let alone the top six.
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